Extremely Rare 1952 Topps #307 Frank Campos "Black Star" Variation

Graded VG 40 by SGC. Extremely rare example of the 1952 Topps "Black Star" printing variation of Frank Campos, Washington. This newly discovered example was consigned by a noncollector who found this card in a modest stack of 1952 Topps cards that he thoroughly researched for rarities and value. Miraculously, he had this rare variation card and was able to identify it from his research. This variation card is truly one of the great rarities of all modern cards. It is so rare that, until 2006, it was virtually unknown, and has just recently been formally recognized and listed by The Standard Catalog. This card was issued with a "Black Star" overprint on the reverse. To be clear, one of the three red stars on the reverse has been overprinted in black ink. This is by far the rarest of all 1952 Topps variations. The fact that it is from such a popular modern issue and has been discovered so recently makes this card all the more interesting. Only a few examples have been found to date. T206 has its nearly impossible "Doyle, N.Y. Nat'l." variation, and 1952 Topps has its #307 Frank Campos "Black Star" variation. The card is bright and crisp, both front and back, perfectly centered, with just honest wear on the corners, and a tiny corner crease in the extreme upper right. Because of its great rarity, there is no consensus of value for this card. We are confident the auction process will provide clarity. Over the past several years, REA has offered two other examples. One was an SGC GD 30 example which was presented as Lot 381 in REA's spring 2006 auction. That was the very first time this variation was ever formally documented. That example sold for $4,640. The second was an SGC NM+ 86 example presented as Lot 497 in REA's spring 2007 auction, which sold for $19,975. This is an extremely attractive newly discovered example of this virtually impossible 1952 Topps variation. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open). SOLD FOR $3,231

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